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Records
found at the Town of Caledon Municipal Office show that the
village in 1852 was called "McCurdy's Village - and in
1857 was called "Belfountain".
How
did Belfountain become the official name for the village known
for so many years as McCurdy's Village? There seems to be a
space of time - from 1850 to 1860 - for which true facts and
figures cannot be found. Perhaps no one will ever know.
For
example, the Tremaine map of 1859, which was compiled and
drawn by George R. Tremaine, distinctly spell the name of the
village - Bellefountain!
The
J.H. Pope map published by Walker and Miles, Toronto, in 1877
has the spelling - Belfountain.
One
record contradicts another - after all, one hundred and twenty
five years is a long way to stretch memories even if such
persons could be found who were alive at that time of history.
But
whatever the spelling, when the name was first changed from
McCurdy's Village, it has been home to many; a lovely spot to
live; and a tourist attraction for many, many thousands from
all parts of Canada and other lands.
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William
Frank arrived in 1825 and established a mill on River Road or
Mill Street. Little is known about the mill or its success,
save to say that it passed into the hands of the McCurdy
Family, who arrived in the area shortly after William Frank.
As
time passed, the village encompassed a wagon shop, a post
office, a school - and since these were "God-Fearing
Christians, their need for spiritual guidance was recognized
and a Baptist and Methodist church came into the village.
When
a large octagonal shaped building was used by the local
blacksmith as a cooperage, the town received a peculiar
nickname. Since it was adjacent to the town pump and since the
building looked like a tub and dominated the centre section of
the village, outsiders dubbed the village "Tubtown".
It was later moved to the village of Erin to their dismay.
With
the establishment of large quarry operations in the nearby
villages of Forks of the Credit and Brimstone, the growth of
Belfountain was assured.
In
1879 the Credit Valley Railway came through and the
establishment of a station in the vicinity was of utmost
importance. The surveyors began to search for a route up the
Credit River towards Orangeville. They found the west branch
of the Credit River towards Belfountain. They found the grades
too steep and the route was abandoned in favour of the main
River Valley. In order to cross the west branch of the Credit,
it was necessary for the railway to build a trestle; the
famous Forks of the Credit trestle... the longest trestle in
Ontario in 1879, and at its northern end was the station that
served Belfountain; the Forks of the Credit Station.
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As
a result of the coming of the railway, the quarries sprang up
all over the Credit Forks area and Brimstone and the Forks of
the Credit became thriving communities. As both of these
village's prospered, so did Belfountain since it became the
centre of commerce for all three ... it had the mills for
grain and lumber, it had the stores and provided housing for
most of the quarry management and some of the skilled workers.
When
the quarries and lime kilns dwindled, the importance of
Belfountain dwindled too and the village began to settle back
to the small hamlet it is today.
There
were many families, most of them gone but not forgotten, who
helped to make McCurdy's Village that picturesque little
hamlet which later became the bustling village of Belfountain.
Family
names like:
William
Frank, McCurdy, Bull, William Kirkwood, John Burnett, J.T.
Bush, William Barber, Noah Herring, Robert Western Brock,
Peter Blair, James Steel, John McLeod, Michael Baker, John
Crichton, Hugh McLaren, Frederick Frank, Sharp, Peter
McTaggart, William MacDonald "Honest Mac", Thomas
Jefferson, Malcom Ramsay, William Jacques, Eagles, James
Graham, Alexander Pattullo, John Foster, Daniel McLachlan,
J.R. Trimble.
The
above information came from the books "Belfountain and
the Tubtown Pioneers" (Margaret Whiteside) and
"Belfountain Caves Castles and Quarries in the Caledon
Hills" and "Remember When" both by Berniece
Trimble.
Written
by J. E. (Ted) Titterton
For
a fun read, we recommend Bernice Trimble's, "Caves,
Castles and Quarries". Thank you.
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